Lexie Krauss

Hello! My name is Lexie, and books are my life. I graduated from Mills College with a degree in English/Creative Writing and spent several years as a dedicated bookseller. I joined Marsal Lyon in 2022, and after learning from the very best, I’m currently building my own list!

In general, I’m seeking adult fiction across genres, with fresh concepts, compelling voice, evocative settings, and rich prose.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR:

• Upmarket
• Literary/Literary Suspense
• Speculative Fiction
• Horror
• Fantasy
• Romantasy
• Historical Fiction

ELEMENTS I LOVE IN A STORY:

• Grounded Speculative Fiction, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi concepts set in the real world, or at least with very strong ties to it—Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Half a Soul, Dark Eden, Outlander
• Unique settings or time periods, especially ones that explore diverse or underrepresented experiences—Moloka’i, The Hacienda, Untamed Shore, Vampires of El Norte, Whiskey When We’re Dry. I have a soft spot for California stories
• Atmospheric settings with lush description and prose, and a very strong sense of place. I love stories that heavily feature travel or unique destinations
• Stories that engage with themes of nature/wilderness, humanity/human evolution, history/culture, and family/generational trauma—The Clan of the Cave Bear, Birnam Wood, The Bear, The Only Good Indians, The Vaster Wilds, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance
• Compelling voice that grabs you from the beginning, guiding you seamlessly through the narrative
• Complex character arcs that celebrate nuance and shades of gray
• Stories that blend genres and defy expectations, that stick with you long after you put them down

WHAT I’M NOT LOOKING FOR:

• YA/MG
• Nonfiction
• Whodunnit mysteries
• Police procedurals, detectives, spies, or anything involving the FBI, CIA, military, etc.
• Erotica
• Slashers
• Most Contemporary Romance and RomComs
• Most WWII settings

Need more specifics about what I’m looking for in a particular genre? Read on…

MY TASTE IN HORROR:

• Literary Horror
• Feminist Horror
• Bubblegum Horror
• Cosmic Horror
• Nature/Eco Horror
• Horror featuring folklore, ghosts, cryptids, and new takes on familiar monsters

MY TASTE IN FANTASY:

• Low Fantasy, or Fantasy that connects to the real world
• Cozy Fantasy with just the right amount of stakes
• Dark Fantasy, especially with an 80’s vibe—think The Dark Crystal, Legend, Labyrinth, Willow, etc.
• Gaslamp Fantasy
• High Fantasy that doesn’t sacrifice accessibility

MY TASTE IN ROMANCE:

• Tragic Romance, or non-traditional Happily-Ever-Afters
• Dark Romantasy—give me the BG3 romances in book form!
• Paranormal Romance
• Star-Crossed Lovers
• Slow Burn
• Red String of Fate

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):

Michael Crichton, Emma Cline, Jean M. Auel, Sylvia Moreno Garcia, Ann Patchett, Mona Awad, Alma Katsu, T. Kingfisher, Kurt Vonnegut, Ruth Ozeki, Max Brooks, Eleanor Catton, Chris Beckett

***A NOTE FOR QUERYING AUTHORS***

I will now be open to queries every other month. Below is my 2026 query schedule:

March-OPEN

April-CLOSED

May-OPEN

June-CLOSED

July-OPEN

August-CLOSED

September-OPEN

October-CLOSED

November-OPEN

December-CLOSED

*PLEASE DO NOT QUERY ME IF YOU UTILIZED GENERATIVE AI DURING THE PROCESS OF WRITING YOUR STORY*

Submission Guidelines

I am now open to queries every other month. If you think your manuscript would be a good fit, you can query me by following this link:

[Query Lexie Here]

Guidelines & Details